Ed Aspinall of the Workforce Development Institute lost his battle with cancer on Sunday, November 23. Ed was an outstanding member of the labor community and will be greatly missed. He is being honored at the 2009 HVALF Labor Heroes Celebration for the "Lifetime Service Award."

Calling hours will be held Tuesday from 2pm-4pm and 7pm-9pm at the Seamon Wilson Funeral Home, 45 John Street, corner of John and Lafayette in Saugerties. Services will be held on Wednesday, 11am at the funeral home, officiated by Rev. Vern Swett, Pastor of the First Congregational Church, followed by interment at the Blue Mountain Cemetery in Saugerties. Immediately afterwards, there will be a buffet at the American Legion, across from the Funeral Home.

In observation of the calling hours, the Hudson Catskill CLC meeting scheduled for 6:30pm Tuesday has been cancelled.

Anyone interested in sending a card to Ed's wife, Ginger, should contact the HVALF at 845-567-7760 for a mailing address. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:

Ulster County Hospice Association, 106 Prince St., Kingston, NY 12401

or

Catskill Ballet Theatre, 795 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401

SAUGERTIES..... Edwin W. "Ed" Aspinall, 65, of Elm Street died Sunday, November 23, 2008 at his residence. Born April 23, 1943 in Brooklyn, NY he was the son of the late Edwin and Avis Cornell Aspinall. A Graduate of the State University of New York at New Paltz where he obtained his Bachelors Degree in Psychology, he furthered his education with a Cornell Labor Studies Degree and Post Graduate Courses in Public Adminstration from the State University of New York at Albany. He was employed for 15 years with the International Ladies Garment Workers Union as a Union Represenative from 1970- 1985. From 1985-1998 he was employed as a Employment and Training Representative for the New York State AFL-CIO in Albany and he was currently employed for the Workforce Development Institute in Troy. He was a member of the CETA, JTPA and the WIA Boards, the Community Action Group in Kingston, the School to Work, the Citizens for Universal Health, the Labor Religion Coalition, the Hudson Valley Labor Council and is a member and former President of the Catskill Ballet Theater. Survivors include his wife the former Virginia "Ginger" Larish, with whom he recently celebrated his 46th Wedding Anniversary.

2 Daughters: Michelle and her Husband Chris Dodig of Lanesboro, Mass. And Jonelyn L. Aspinall of New Paltz. 1 Sister: Audrey Michele of Port St. Lucie, Fla. 1 Brother: George Aspinall of Phoenixville, PA. His Step Mother Catherine Aspinall of Phoenicia. 2 Granddaughters: Erin and Grace Dodig and several nieces and nephews also survive.

Friends are also invited to light a candle in Ed's memory @ www.SeamonWilseyFuneralHome.com

This year's Labor 2008 program was a tremendous success! The HVALF would like to thank all of the incredible volunteers who walked and phoned with us during the political season. While absentee and affidavit ballots have yet to be counted, the unofficial election results are below. A "^" indicates the incumbent and a "*" indicates the winner. Our endorsed candidates are in italics and our targeted races are in bold. Underlined races are still very close and subject to change.

US Congress

17th Congressional District -- Eliot Engel^* v. Robert Goodman (79% to 21%)

18th Congressional District -- Nita Lowey^* v. Jim Russel (68% to 32%)

19th Congressional District -- John Hall^* v. Kieran Lalor (58% to 42%)

20th Congressional District -- Kirsten Gillibrand^* v. Sandy Treadwell (62% to 38%)

22nd Congressional District -- Maurice Hinchey^* v. George Phillips (66% to 34%)

NYS Senate

38th Senate District -- Thomas Morahan^* v. Gregory B. Julian (63% to 37%)

39th Senate District -- William J. Larkin, Jr.^* v. Lawrence Delarose (62% to 38%)

40th Senate District -- Vincent Leibell^* (unopposed)

41st Senate District -- Stephen M. Saland^* v. Ken Dow (59% to 42%)

42nd Senate District -- John J. Bonacic^* (unopposed)

51st Senate District -- James Seward^* v. Don Barber (66% to 33%)

NYS Assembly

94th Assembly District -- Kenneth Zebrowski^* (unopposed)

95th Assembly District -- Ellen Jaffee^* (unopposed)

96th Assembly District -- Nancy Calhoun^* v. Richard Randazzo (54% to 46%)

97th Assembly District -- Annie Rabbitt^* v. Jerome Sommers (63% to 37%)

98th Assembly District -- Aileen Gunther^* (unopposed)

99th Assembly District -- Greg Ball^* v. John Degnan (62% to 38%)

100th Assembly District -- Thomas Kirwan^ v. Frank Skartados* (49% to 51%)

101st Assembly District -- Kevin Cahill^* v. Robin Yess (68% to 32%)

102nd Assembly District -- Joel Miller^* v. Jonathan Smith (54% to 46%)

103rd Assembly District -- Marc Molinaro^* v. Anne Rubin (62% to 38%)

107th Assembly District -- Clifford Crouch^* (unopposed)

108th Assembly District -- Tim Gordon^* v. Steven F. McLaughlin (60% to 40%)

127th Assembly District -- Peter Lopez^* (unopposed)

Upper Hudson CLC

Ulster County Executive -- Mike Hein* v. Len Bernardo (57% to 49%)

Ulster County Comptroller -- Jim Quigley* v. Elliott Auerbach (50.4% to 49.6%)

City of Kingston, Ward 2 Alderperson -- Tom Hoffay^* v. Phil Cosme (65% to 35%)

Hudson Catskill CLC

Surrogate's Court Judge -- Robert Onofry* v. Stephen Hunter (52% to 48%)

In the Presidential election, President-elect Barack Obama beat John McCain in 6 of the 7 counties in the HVALF jurisdiction.

Columbia County -- Barack Obama* v. John McCain (53% to 45%)

Dutchess County -- Barack Obama* v. John McCain (53% to 46%)

Greene County -- Barack Obama v. John McCain* (44% to 54%)

Orange County -- Barack Obama* v. John McCain (50% to 49%)

Rockland County -- Barack Obama* v. John McCain (53% to 47%)

Sullivan County -- Barack Obama* v. John McCain (53% to 45%)

Ulster County -- Barack Obama* v. John McCain (61% to 38%)

At this time, only two of our endorsed candidates lost their election (HCCLC Surrogate's Court Judge candidate Stephen Hunter and 100th Assembly Incumbent Tom Kirwan). One of these was an extremely close race and Assemblymember Kirwan has yet to concede. Both presumed winners have affirmed their commitment to our issues and will prove likely allies in the future. The Ulster County Comptroller race is still "too close to call." Mr. Quigley is in the lead right now, but there are less than 600 votes separating the two candidates with approximately 3,100 absentee and affidavit votes to be counted on November 14. We will keep you posted on the status of this race.

In addition, we are currently victorious in all of our targeted races, perhaps most notably the landslide win for Congressmember Kirsten Gillibrand, whose reelection was one of the most heavily targeted and contested races in the country. Congressmember John Hall also had an outstanding showing, having originally been the focus of targeting similar to Congressmember Gillibrand. While the results of the Ulster County Comptroller race are not yet official, we are confident that Jim Quigley will be elected to office. We look forward to continuing our work with everyone who has been reelected and are eager to strengthen our relationships with the newly elected officials.

Special thanks go to the hundreds of volunteers who supported our efforts this year, especially the members of AFGE Local 2367, BSOIW Local 417, CWA Local 1120, IBEW Local 363, IBT Local 445, IUPAT DC 9, LIUNA Local 17, NYSUT, OPEIU, SEIU 200 United, SMWIA Local 38, UA Local 21, UAW Local 3039, and UBCJA Local 19.

The Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation will be hosting our third annual Labor Heroes celebration to honor outstanding labor activists and friends of labor on Friday, January 16, 2009. Please save the date.

In preparation for this wonderful event, we are looking for names of the men and women who make our labor movement work. Many people are deserving of these awards and it is up to you to recognize them as a nominee.

The Award Categories: 
1. The "Mother Jones Award" for an outstanding female trade union activist or leader.
2. The "Phil 'Toppy' Moresco Award" (formerly the Joe Hill Award) for an outstanding male trade union activist or leader.  
3. The "Friend of Labor Award" for those individuals or organizations outside of the labor movement that have gone above and beyond for the cause of workers' rights.
4. The "Lifetime Service Award" for those individuals who have dedicated themselves to the labor movement for their entire career and are at or near retirement.

Please call 845.567.7760, email Brittany Turner or fax your nominations to 845.567.7742. SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2008.